


X verses X

by OptimisticEmotion



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Character Death, Graphic Description of Corpses, Multi, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Sloppy Makeouts, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide, Suicide Notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 19:58:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4150920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OptimisticEmotion/pseuds/OptimisticEmotion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are couples killing themselves all over Jump in the name of their love. When Red X discovers Robin and Slade have been marked like the others, what can he do to keep his favorite Titan safe?</p>
            </blockquote>





	X verses X

**Author's Note:**

> This actually might be better as a Valentines fic, but fuck it. Here you go. It's a Sladin, WARNING! Suicide and Drugged Beverages. Also, while it is a Sladin, there is next to no Robin/Slade moments, like, one, and two mentions toward it. It's really very Red X centered. I did not bother too much with Spelling or Grammar, but at least the story makes sense.

Robin. The leader of the Teen Titans. The side kick to Batman. The last of the Flying Graysons.  


Oh, that last one he tries to keep quiet. He has no clue that I know. He doesn't get how resourceful I can be. I have connections he doesn't understand, after all, to live the type a life I do and not die, you need to know the right people. He's always underestimating me. He always assumes that I'm just another criminal. He couldn't be more wrong.

I now realize with how dramatic I'm being whoever reads this is probably assuming I'm Slade or something. Nope. Guess again Kid.  
Anyway. I'm writing this, or typing, is there really a need for distinction? Whatever, I'm typing this because this is a huge deal, a big thing. And I was right in the middle of it all when it happened.  
You could also call this the eulogy of a hero, . . .

It was just another spring day. The sun was shining, the skies were clear, Robin was snogging a mercenary in a back alley while his friends were goofing off around town, and a slight breeze carrying the ocean spray. Yep, just another typical day in Jump City. Nothing to really report on.  


I'm kidding. I get someone just shouted so I'll explain a bit.  


I like to people watch in my down time. I'm not always in costume for it, but when you pay attention, you notice things. Things like how the kid with dark hair on the bus that sat next to me one time had a bruise on his chin where I watched Robin get a good hit from Plasmus the night before. If that wasn't enough of a coincidence for you, he also had the scar from where I accidently nicked Robin on the side of the neck with one of my 'X's. I kind of felt bad for that one actually, so I started to talk to him for a bit. I found out his name was Richard Grayson, Dick for short. We didn't become fast friends, just a random conversation on the bus, but when I got home I went and googled all I could about him. Yes, it was stalkerish and creepy, no I'm not ashamed.  


Either way, I had found out that Dick was the adopted son of a millionaire that had to end up being Batman, he was an orphan from a acrobatic family that lived in the circus, liked math, and a bunch of other boring stuff.The part that really caught my eye was a news artical from the Gotham Gazette titled, 'Duke of Gotham Gay?!'. Underneath was an explanation how the son of the Prince of Gotham was caught making out with another boy under the bleachers of his high-school. While that was just chalked up to a couple of kids being stupid at first, the final nail in the coffin was when he was again seen holding hands with another dude walking into the movies. There was a paragraph for the opposition that explained that he couldn't be gay when he had so many ex-girlfriends and female lovers, so from there I knew the kid was at least Bisexual. Something we had in common really.  


A few days after my little stalker-aid, I had ran into Dick again. Well, really he ran into Slade and I watched as the both of them sneaked into an alley. I thought it was weird at first, so I quietly followed them in case the Kid was in trouble. I know, I'm not known for my bleeding heart, but I did do a background check on the guy without his permission. I felt like I kind of owed him. When I got to the part of the alley that Slade and Dick ended up in, Dick was calling the other guy 'Wilson'.  


You have no idea how hard it was not to laugh. Robin was now making out with a guy who he had no clue was actually his archenemy. I had to give Slade props for gutsy-ness. I was worried that having a close relation with Dick Grayson would help alert Robin that I was, well, Red X. But here was Slade Wilson, snogging the kid up.  


I was then about to leave and give them privacy now that I had deduce that Dick was in no real imminent danger. I'm not a voyager, but then something caught my attention. Really I shouldn't have even noticed it. It was just kinda strange, but when Slade started to shrug off his shirt, there was a mark on his shoulder. It was like an out lined heart that was jumbled up and surrounded by eight lines that made an unenclosed circle. I made a mental note of it before I finally left the two to their delightful sinning.  


Later that night I was watching t.v. and saw the symbol again, this time on a body found in the Jump City Bay. The news team figured it was an accidental burn that wasn't worth much notice, but it had me worried. After all, what had the great Deathstroke gotten himself in trouble with this time, and more so, is Dick in danger for being associated with him?  


The next night I went by the city morgue in my Red X getup and did a bit of snooping. I found the body that was found and looked him over. Um, gag worthy, thank you, but someone's life was in danger, I needed to make sure it wasn't anyone I cared abou- I mean, I needed to make sure it wasn't anyone I owed a favor to. Okay, yeah that one made less sense, look I just needed to make sure it wasn't Robin, okay?  


Once I looked the body over I could see the mark better, it was just like Slade's but the lines were more defined, like the brand used for it was held there for a while longer than the one that was used on Slade. I was right about the heart and the circle, but they were suppose to be connected, except the top tip of the heart where the two bumps meet, and there were symbols all around it just inside of the circle. I couldn't even pin point the language it was so strange. After deciding it had to be alien I walked over to the medical report and looked at what killed this poor sod. Turns out, he drown, how anti-climatic. From the police report attached it seems that the guy had actually jumped in the river himself. Suicide. Depressing poor sod. And he did it to prove his love to his girlfriend, . . . Dumb depressing poor sod. Alright, so this guy was an idiot. Got it. Still, something didn't sit right with me. The girlfriend's address wasn't too far from my place, you know, give or take a few miles, I could just swing by and do a bit of detective look myself. So I did.  


When I finally got there, it was dawn. Now personally, I don't care much for being Red X out in the daylight if I can avoid it. Titans seem just a tad more active during the sun shine hours. So quickly and quietly I sneaked through the window and looked around. The girl was in the shower, apparently, as the bathroom door was closed and steam was finding it's way through the cracks. I figured I would give her tie to finish her shower before I interrogated her about her dead boyfriend. After all, one has to be considerate to those in grieving. After about ten minutes, I got bored and turned on the t.v. Wouldn't you know it, Supernatural was on! I watched a couple of episodes before I started to notice three things. Thing one, the place was pretty clean and comfy for the house of a grieving woman. Thing two, it was getting extremely warm for a spring morning. Thing three, the girlfriend has been in the shower for a really long time now.  


I bolted up right and ran to the bathroom door to find it locked. I started to bang on the door calling out that I was the police and that I needed her to open the door that instant. Nothing. Finally I did something I should have done the moment I sneaked through the window: I kicked down the door. I will never forget what I saw, and I will forever damn myself for not opening that damn door sooner. The girlfriend was on the bottom of the over filling tub with the scolding hot water running down on her, holding a framed picture of her dead boyfriend. She wasn't just dead, she was burned and boiled all over.  


I ran back to the kitchen and grabbed her cell off the counter and dialed 911. I told them I was a concerned neighbor and had stopped by to give my condolences for her dead loved one to find that she had drown her self in the tub. I left after giving them the address.  


I went home. Everything in me felt numb after seeing that. Apart of me tried to think that I was already too late. If she was that burn, she had to have been in there hours longer than I was in her apartment. But then again another part of me felt like I should have checked first. Either way I ended up cuddled up on my couch watching the news to see if she would show up. She did. Eyvan Windsow, drown in her own bath tub. The cops found a suicide note on the bathroom counter. I don't blame myself for not seeing it, I was kinda preoccupied with the body. Either way, her note read:

Dear world,  
My beloved Jordan has proved his ultimate love for me by paying the ultimate price. I now repay it. I shall forever be by my dear Jordan's side in death. I am happy to go be in his arms again. I am certain he will be pleased to see me again so soon after his own departure. For all those I leave behind, I only pray that you yourselves find that special someone whom makes you want to spend eternity with. Good luck finding that special someone.  
Love, Eyvan.  
((P.s.- Let that fire in your heart lead you to your soul's other half.))

Funny, I saw her body naked and boiled, but it was her love/suicide note that actually made me puke.

I decided to go out for a walk to clear my head. I needed to get away from this feeling for a bit. I was walking down the street on 9th and Crawford when a couple went from arguing about where to eat to who loved who more. I was going to just pass by, but their parting words from each other froze me solid.  


"If you truly love me, you'd hang yourself!"  


"If you loved me, you'd slit your own throat!"  


"Fine!"  


"FINE!"  


I didn't know what to do for a moment and then decided to follow the girl for a bit. She wouldn't really slit her own throat, would she? Had it been the day before, I wouldn't have taken either of them so seriously, but something was going on in this insane city. I kept following the girl when we reached a cross walk. Another couple was talking, two girls.  


"I love you so much I would jump in front of a car."  


"Aw, I love you so much I would jump in front of a semi."  


"There's one right there."  


"Let's go then."  


Both girls then started to run for the street. I didn't think before reacting, I grabbed them both by the back of their shirts and yanked them back just as the truck past.  


"What is wrong with you?" I had asked both of them. They didn't reply to me. They just slipped out of their shirts and tried again, this time succeeding to get in front of another semi not too far behind the first. I couldn't do anything to stop them this time. I just held their quickly cooling shirts in either hand as they were splattered on the pavement. I lost the other girl, who probably went to go make a new opening in her windpipe. They say when a bad thing happens that you can't stop, time somewhat slows down for your brain and you can concentrate on more, smaller details. The detail that struck me was the matching burns on each of the lesbians backs. The unenclosed heart in a circle with symbols.  


I suddenly needed to go to the morgue and take another stomach churning look at Eyvan and Jordan.  


It was a bit more difficult sneaking in as I didn't wait til night. It was close enough, alright, like, noon-ish. I found Eyvan, her boiled and bloated body was next to Jordan's on their own separate slabs. Just as they wanted it. I had to prep myself for this one. Turning the guy over was one thing, he was just water logged. Eyvan was hard to look at, her skin was a mixture of blue and splotches of red with bumps of of pussy boils on every inch of her body. I held my breath as I held her on her side. Right between her shoulder blades, there it was, the symbol branded into her skin.  


Finally I was able to figure the easy part of the mystery out. What ever was causing these burns was making people want to kill themselves for whomever they loved most. That's when another thing accrued to me; these burns are always coupled. Both participants in the relationship were affected. Slade had a burn. Robin! I ran out of the morgue and all the way down town to the tall and proud 'T' tower. Of course I knew how to sneak in, how the hell do you think I got the damn suite in the first place? I made my way inside using one of my four favorite methods, someone should really think about putting some proper security around that place, and made my way to their main room. Even when I was doing that, I knew I was being stupid. Hello, I'm a wanted criminal and they are a team of Heroes. But I was less preoccupied with logic and more worried about the safety of a certain little acrobat. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the living room was empty. Safe for a giant mess. I know they aren't the cleanest teenagers in existence, it's never really been 'spotless' during any of my other, uh, 'visits', but this was a war zone. Knives were on the floor by the kitchenette, broken plates and bowls, the sofa was torn to hell, some of the computers on the far wall were smashed beyond use. Something happened here. I looked over the knives, hoping each of them was clean. My heart dropped when I saw one that was stained with blood. It was only a little, but even I knew how much damage just a little blood meant. There was a medical bay in the tower, maybe who ever was hurt was being taken care of in there.  


I ran to it to see the door open and I nearly cried in relief when I heard voices. I slowed down to think about my plan. I needed to make sure that Robin was okay, and maybe even give the Titans all I worked out so far and let it officially be their problem. I could let them arrest me and then ditch whatever cop they try to have take me in. Solid plan. Should work perfectly. Only one problem, Robin wasn't okay.  
I walked in and the four 'Not Robin's were sitting around the one and only Robin whom was laying strapped down in a medical bed, unconscious, pale as a ghost, gauze wrapped heavily around each wrist, which were also belted to the sides of the bed.  


"Bad time?" I announced my presence. They all jumped, obviously, but they didn't immediately attack me.  


"What do you want?" Raven asked. She was glaring at me, but I could hear that it was lacking in venom.  


"I want to make sure Robin didn't succeed in killing himself in the name of love." I answered. Maybe a bit too bluntly.  


"How do you know about that?!" The metal Hulk demanded as he grabbed me by the scruff of my suite and slammed me against the wall.  


"I've been digging around. It's happening all over the city. Couples are killing themselves to prove how much they love each other."  


"How did you know Robin was affected?" Raven growled.  


"I saw him with his boyfriend. All the victims had the same symbol branded on their backs. His boyfriend had one on his back." Cyborg finally let me go, but they were both still glaring at me. Starfire and Beastboy were being uncharacteristically quite for the two of them, it was unnerving.  


"So how do we fix this?" Cyborg asked me.  


"What?"  


"How do we get rid of it?" He repeated himself.  


"Raven, can't you fix this?" Beastboy asked.  


"No. It's not something that I can 'fix'. It's too alien." Raven frowned. "Unless you know a way?" She looked to me.  


"I don't know if there is a way. So far every single person I have seen with it has died. There were a couple of girls going to just jump in front of a bus and when I tried to stop them they didn't even react to me. Not really. They just got rid of what I was holding them back by, which was their freaking shirts by the way, and jumped in front of a semi. So I'm still working toward the end of this little mystery." I had started to raise my voice at the end, probably because I had started to vent about the trauma I had received from the whole event. They were silent for a moment. Then Starfire spoke.  


"Do you know who it was?" She asked.  


"Who? You mean who marked them? No clue yet, but I'm working on it-"  


"No. Who the other man was with Robin. The other affected." She interrupted me.  


"Um, I, n-no, not really. Couldn't see his face." I lied, no need getting the kid in troub-  


"It was Slade!" She growled, tears filling her eyes. Whelp, there went trying to protect the kid. "He was seeing our worst enemy behind our backs! He was going to kill himself in the name of his love for that, that, Clorbag Vorblernelk!" She was now fully crying.  


"Look I don't know much about what's happening with the affected, but it's more than obvious that whatever it is, it's causing them to be just a lot more then insane. We all know that the Boy Wonder would never do any of this if he wasn't cursed or whatever this is. I'm not saying that he wouldn't have dated Slade, but I bet he would have been a lot less of a dick about it." Red suggested.  


"Dude. Not. Helping." Beastboy spoke from his seat.  


"Fine. But still. The point is, the city is under attack from an evil cupid that is taking advantage of people's love and causing them to go insane and kill themselves in the name of that love. If we don't fix this soon not only will prom night be really fucking gory, but there will be a new rise in the orphan population. So I'm just real fucking curious, do any of you blubbering butt-hurt buffoons know where the hell the Teen Titans are cause Jump City could really use their help right about now." I didn't mean to snap, but it did the job. Each Titan glared at me for a moment before they each had a revelation. Starfire was the first to actually respond though.  


"You are right." She stood and walked up to me. "We are the Teen Titans and it is our duty to save and protect the people of our city! Robin, or no Robin." She gave a curt nod that came with her determination.  


"So where do we start?" Cyborg asked me.  


"First off we need to figure out where those marks are coming from. They aren't all on the same exact place, but it's mostly kept to where the infected would have a hard time seeing it. It also only seems to affect couples. So who ever is doing this is seeing couples and marking them without their noticing." I went over what I knew for certain. "We should probably start with something that all the couples had in common. A place they went on a date or something." I was now just trying to think out loud, but the way everyone shuffled in place had my guard up.  


"What?" I asked.  


"Well, Robin may not have told us 'who' he was dating, but he wasn't hiding the fact that he 'was' dating." Beastboy started. "He was really nervous for his first date with some guy, they were going some place really fancy."  


"Fancy? Fancy like Amare's fancy or fancy as McDonald's right before close?" I tried to get specifics.  


"McDonald's right before close?" Raven raised a brow at me. "Quite the charmer, aren't you?"  


"Sweet heart, you'd have to go at least once with me to see how Mc D's late at night is probably the most romantic places on earth." I winked at her, only to remember I still had a mask on. She still rolled her eyes. "So Amare's it is. I suppose if I were a cupid like creature hell bent on murdering love birds, a romantic Italian restaurant difficult as shit to get into would be the perfect hunting ground." "So we sneak in and get this guy?" Beastboy asked slamming his fist into his other hand. Kid looked pissed.  


"No. We don't know anything yet. Try to think of it as a difficult heist. We first need to get in and see what the surrounding elements are, then we have to see how all the variable components operation on a normal function around those elements. That's how we get what information we need for a plan. From there we have to be flexible in how we operate." I paused. "That is, if you guys are cool with working with me on this?" I had almost forgotten for a moment that we weren't exactly friends.  


"I will fight along side you." Starfire agreed. I was honestly shocked by how quickly she agreed to it.  


"Star? This is Red X you're talking to! The thief who stole Robin's Red X suite!" Beastboy was also surprisingly against it.  


"You have a point BB, but I don't think anyone else has a plan of action or any other idea of what to do." Cyborg shrugged. "I'll work with you, but the moment I feel like you're about to turn on us, I'm blasting you. Got it?"  


"Sure." I agreed. Hey, I know a thing or two about self preservation.  


"See? Rae?" Cyborg looked over to the last of their members.  


"I'm hesitant, certainly, but considering the emotional state of each person in the room, I think Red X is the calmest and best choice for running an operation."  


"I am?" I was a little taken off guard by the admission.  


"At the moment anyway." She added.  


"Ah. Alright so here's what we're going to do." I won't bore you with the details of the planning stage, but ultimately we had agreed on a plan of action that we were all comfortable with.

"Reservation for two for Alex Rider." I told the waiter. The man with the obviously fake pencil mustache gave a small nod and grabbed a two menus.  


"This way, Mr. Rider." The man said in a pompous accent, and this place was suppose to be fancy.  


"You are pretty ballsy to use your full name around the Titans." My 'date' muttered.  


"'Ballsy'? Really Raven? I didn't take you for the type of person to say 'ballsy'." I chuckled back before leaning in and adding in a whisper, "Beside, it's not really my name."  


"And the red hair and green eyes?" Raven asked.  


"My trust in that you will never see this side of me ever again." I winked as we came up to our tables and were seated.  


So yeah, the plan involved me and Raven going on a date to, you've guessed it, Amare's. Cyborg and Starfire were watching through a surveillance came that Cyborg had patched in through, and Beastboy was to disguise himself as a bird in their 'romantic' cage aviary. The hope was that whoever was marking the couples would make a move tonight. If on me and Raven, perfect, if not and on someone else, that would be alright too. The only problem?  


"I can't believe you brought me 'here'. Talk about cheap!"  


"Wow, you actually wore that dress? I thought you said it made you look fat?"  


"What is wrong with my mother? She is a very charming woman! It's not my fault she actually has a sense of people's worth."  


"Wow, every couple in here is on the brink of Break Up City." I muttered across the table.  


"I noticed when we walked in. The aura in this place is dark, unnaturally so." Raven spoke as her eyes darted around the restaurant.  


"Either this is a bad day for the business or we are so missing out on something."  


"We can't have really expected this to go down exactly as we imaged. Even a novice leader should know that." I could hear the bite in her words.  


"Whoa, hey now, not cool. One, I didn't really expect this to go down in any specific way. I was just making an observation. Two, I am not a leader, ergo, I am not a novice leader. Three, I was just trying to help for once so stop getting pissy at me because I decided to do something when no one else would." I growled back at her.  


"If you're not a leader why did you step up to the plate? If you never do anything then why now? What's changed, Red? What do you stand to gain here?"  


"You're worried about me having an ulterior motive? I wanted to keep someone special to me safe. Already I failed. So now I'm just trying to make it right."  


"Since when were you ever concerned with what's 'right'?"  


"Since when were you so curious about me?"  


"Since the start. You always made us want to know about you, you're a mystery. Everyone knows mysteries get solved." Raven crossed her arms.  


"Oh, I am a mystery, hu? If I wasn't so much of a mystery would you still be curious about me?"  


"Probably not." She shrugged.  


"Well, thank you for being honest with me at least." I mumbled.  


"One of us has to be."  


"Is that so? Then what is your real name?" I asked.  


"What? I'm not telling you that!"  


"If you tell me your real name, I'll tell you mine. Truth for truth." I crossed my arms. Raven stared at me for a moment, I just simply mirrored her.  


"Rachel." She said suddenly.  


"What?"  


"Rachel. It's my name."  


"Really?"  


"Yes, really. Your turn."  


"Oh, uh, Alex." I admitted dumbfounded.  


"You said that wasn't your real name." Rach-Raven growled at me.  


"Rider isn't my real name, Alex is." I explained.  


"So what's your last name?" She asked.  


"You first."  


"I went first last time." Raven pointed out.  


"That's not how the game works." I objected.  


"I don't remember ever specifying rules." She smirked.  


"Gah! Fine. Redford. Alright? Alex Redford." I gave in.  


"Red-ford? Really?" Raven smiled.  


"Yes. And yes, all my life it was a big joke about how I have bright ass red hair and a name to match. To be honest I hated the colour until I saw 'Red X' for the first time. I was already thinking about kicking my game up to the next level, you know like Catwoman or Roxanne-"  


"Neither of which are good role-models-" Raven interjected.  


"-when I found out that Robin was-  


"SHHH!" Raven interrupted harshly.  


"Op, sorry, anyway. I just, figured it was fate." I shrugged, wrapping up the story. 

"I see."  


"Your turn." I pointed out.  


"My turn what?"  


"Last name."  


"Oh. Roth." Raven muttered. She was kinda quiet so it was hard to hear her.  


"Rachel Roth, hu?" I smiled at her this time. She blushed and glared into her menu.  


"It is so nice to see lovers reconcile. How about some wine to celebrate the survival of your first fight?" A new waiter came up to the table and offered.  


"No thanks buddy." I waved him off.  


"Ah, I meant, on the house." He explained.  


"Man, really, thanks, but no thanks." I rejected him again.  


"But it is a special wine. A Reisling 1982, goes great with fish, chicken or pork."  


"You know what? If it gets you away from our table, sure, why not." I gave in.  


"Excellent. I shall fetch the bottle." The waiter grinned happily and marched off.  


"That was strange." Raven muttered.  


"Tell me about it. I'm just all 'dude, some space please.' and he's gotta be all-"  


"Not that." Raven interrupted me, again. "Since when did restaurants give away free wine, expensive wine at that, to people who just stopped bickering?"  


"I guess that is weird." I frowned and went back to people watching. I watched as couples either ended their argument in a break up, or they reconciled and were offered a free wine.  


"Is it me, or all these waiters really happy to see 'happy couples'?" I asked.  


"Here we are!" Our waiter said announcing his arrival. "Reisling 1982." He poured two glasses and set them in front of us. "A toast to a happy couple." He offered.  


"Yeah, not happening."  


"But I insist." The waiter pushed.  


"Any particular reason you want us to drink this wine?" Raven asked, raising a brow at him.  


"Um, well, I, it is store policy-"  


"Your store's policy is to force wine on underage costumers?" I asked. "I'm only twenty you buffoon." I replied.  


"And I am nineteen." Raven added. I could see in her eyes she wanted to push this, she was on to something.  


"I, well, I, uh, would, would you like to speak to my manager?" The waiter asked nervously.  


"Na-"  


"Yes. I demand to." Raven said, cutting me off.  


When the waiter walked off I looked at my 'date' as if she lost her mind. "We're suppose to be keeping a low profile." I whispered.  


"Trust me." Was all she said before the manager showed up. I spared a glance to the aviary, a green canary was staring in our direction. Beastboy was probably worried.  


"Yes? How can I help you?" A large bellied man with a balding head came out, looking at the two of us nervously.  


"We are being told it is your restaurant's policy to serve alcohol to costumers who did not order it?" Raven started with.  


"Yes, we give free wine to happy couples. Is there a problem with that?" The manager suddenly was less nervous and now seemed irate.  


"Yes, as a matter of fact it is." Raven's voice got dark. "We are under age, and my father is a cop." Okay, I would have done a spit take at that, good thing I wasn't going to touch the drink in front of me.  


"I see. My apologies, Miss-?"  


"I have half a mind to call my father now." Raven ignored his implied question.  


"What if we offered your meal free?" The manager offered.  


"That might make it better." Raven looked like she was thinking it over, it was all an act though, I could see she had a plan in motion.  


"Is there anything else I could do for you?" The manager asked.  


"I want a tour of the kitchen." Raven demanded.  


"Wh-what?" That took three of the four people at the table off guard.  


"I want, to see, the kitchen." Raven ground the words out for emphasis.  


"I am afraid I can't do that miss." With the manager's words, Raven pulled out her cell-phone out of her small purse and dialed a number.  


"Hello? Daddy, yes, I'm at Amare's, and you wouldn't believe what they just tried to pull-"  


"How about that tour? Yes? Everyone ready? Let's go, right now!" The manager suddenly was very accommodating.  


"Oh, sorry, I'll have to call you back in a sec. Something just changed." Raven hung up the phone and put it away. I tried to get her attention with a brow raise, but she didn't make any motion that she saw me.  


"Well, that sounds nice. Thank you." I never want to see that sickly sweet of a smile on that girl's face ever again in my life.  


The manager and waiter lead us to the Kitchen doors, all the while I was keeping an eye out around us. The unnerving sight of every single waiter's eyes following us as we walked made chills go down my spine. From there one I was praying the Titans would shut the place down when all was said and done. It was even worse in the kitchen. Every cook and waiter stopped what they were doing at our arrival and stared at us. I felt myself stand closer to Raven, wither out of fear or protectiveness I don't know, but I did have a since that shit was about to go down.  


"Now what was so special about the wine you tried to serve us?" Raven interrogated the manager, nothing about her would suggest that she was the least bit deterred by the creepy factor of, well, everything.  


"It was a 1982 Reisling. A very expensive bottle that is now ruined after being opened and ignored." The manager growled.  


"Now Reggie, calm down." A sweet voice came from nowhere. I couldn't tell at first if it was feminine or not, but I could tell that it wasn't human.  


"Rae-" I warned.  


"I know." The Titan moved her stance, ready for a fight, "Who are you? Where are you?"  


"Hush now, Child, there is no danger here. You are here to be with your lover, remember?" The voice edged.  


"It's a first date, I would hardly call him my 'lover'." Raven muttered.  


"Yeah, we're really more just 'commonly interested acquaintances'." I added.  


"Is that so? Then why is there such a strong bond between you two? Why do you glance so knowingly, longingly into each other's eyes?" The voice asked.  


"Show yourself." Raven demanded, a little harsher now.  


"Very well." A whirl of multi-colored smoke breezed about the room before funneling into the spot before us. The funnel soon started to take a shape, a humanoid shape. As the smoke above filled into the humanoid, the creature gained detail and proper coloring. I still couldn't tell if this person was a guy or a chick. They had long, curly, blond hair and painted red lips, but they were flat as Kansas in the chest and wore a ridiculous outfit that would give anybody and feminine figure. I figured that it was either a chick or someone who wanted to be a chick, so I will refer to them as 'she' from here on. "There, now isn't that more civilized?"  


"Oh, we're being civilized?" I asked before looking to Raven. "We can be civilized. Right, Dear?" Raven glared at me for that.  


"That would be appreciated." The, woman?, said with a smile.  


"I am Alex Rider. May we know your name?" I said trying to remember my manners.  


"Why, how polite. I am Cupid X."  


"Hey! That's-" Raven jabbed me in the side with her elbow, "-neat, I like your name very much." I tried to cover the groan from the pain.  


"Why thank you. And you, Dear?" Cupid X looked to Raven.  


"Iwona Kicurarse." Raven lied. I had to snicker.  


"I see. Be that way little girl, but you have no idea who you are messing with." Cupid X glared.  


"Neither do you." Raven smirked.  


"I guess shit's about to go down?" I guessed.  


"Remember, Alex, Iwona, I tried to be pleasant." Cupid waved her hand and the chefs each pulled out their sharpest knives.  


"Hey, we just want to know what was in the damn wine, alright!" I called out.  


"The wine?" Cupid smirked. "What a grand idea. Better than what I was going to do. I was going to just have my cooks carve you like a couple of turkeys, but no. Bring me their wine, I think it's time for a toast!" Suddenly someone grabbed me from behind and pinned my arms to my sides. I glanced over to Raven to see her in the same position. Our wine glasses were brought in from the main lobby. Each of our drinks were presented close to our faces.  


"Now, drink up." Cupid smiled. The hair on the back of my head was yanked back, causing me to cry out in surprise and pain. Next thing I know a sweet and bitter liquid was being poured into my mouth. "You see, the wine makes it easier to mark my love birds. It makes you think of that someone special, and when I touch you, I make that attraction so dire, you want nothing more than to be with that person so much you'd rather die than be apart from them. Isn't that romantic?" Cupid giggled. I couldn't spit it out, I was forced to swallow the drink or drown. It kept coming too, they would stop pouring only long enough to refill the glass, then get back to it. I felt everything get dark and my body started to feel numb. I was barely able to pay attention as Cupid X walked up to me and whispered in my ear. "Now you will feel True Love in it's rawest form."  


I felt a slight burning on my shoulder where I figured her hand was. It didn't really hurt, sorta like a rub burn from a carpet or something. It was getting worse though, and I started to feel the bite of the brand. Just as it was starting to become painful, there was a crash followed by shouting. I tried to keep my eyes open as I fell to the ground, being dropped so my attacker could fight whoever, most likely the other three Titans, just barged in.  


"Alex." It was weak, but Raven's voice wasn't too far from where I was. She sounded as tired as I felt.  


"Ra-ven?" I was close to blacking out. I felt a cold hand on mine, Raven was trying to hold it.  


"You're evil ways are over! Now undo your curse!"  


"Never!"  


"Star! Right flank!"  


"Got it!"  


"Take this Evil Girly Dude!"  


"No! It burns!"  


"BB! What is that stuff?"  


"Hm? Let me see-, . . .-'s Chocolate Sauce!"  


"Toss me so- of that!"  


"Ah-h! -burns! No!"  


"Sh- down!"  


"It's - She?"  


"Cy- h- are - and - ven?"  


"Ra- ine - X -"  


"Red X?"  


"R- X!"

I woke up in the medical bay at Titan's Tower.  


My shoulder hurt and my head was pounding.  


But mostly a part of me felt unbelievably empty.  


I couldn't explain it, but I just felt like sobbing.  


I sat up and looked around to find that I was alone.  


Figuring that the fact I wasn't strapped down was a good sign that I wasn't being taken into custody, I slowly got out of the bed and looked down at myself. I had a bandage on my shoulder and I was only wearing a pair of gray sweat pants. It was quiet save for the ventilation and some of the computer's humming. I left the med bay and walked down the hall, heading for the main living area. Once there I saw everyone; Cyborg, Beastboy, Starfire, and Raven, huddled around their fifth member as he spoke in a low voice. Seeing the back of his head caused my stomach to jump in a weird way. That feeling of wanting to sob came stronger. I wanted to call out to them, to him, but I couldn't.  


"I honestly didn't know it was Slade I was dating until after we went to Amare's! I thought he was an accountant." Robin explain.  


"So you did not mean what you said?" Starfire asked cautiously.  


"You mean when I was being hysterical and trying to cut my hands off? No, I didn't mean a word of it. I would never chose Slade over you guys. Wilson and I have a conversation before us, one that will most likely end with handcuffs, but yeah, I would never do that to you guys on purpose." Robin said. I thought about walking closer, I also thought about walking away. I didn't know what to do. "So how did you guys fix everything? And why was there a stranger in the med bay when I woke up?"  


"That, is quiet a story actually." Raven looked over her shoulder to me and smiled, "I think Red should get over here and help us tell it."  


"Red?" Robin asked and looked over his shoulder at me too. I met eyes with him to see his mask well in place. My heart started to beat a little harder. I wanted to see his blue eyes the same way he could see my green ones. With that I remembered that he could easily read me as I didn't have my mask on.  


"Um, yo." I waved.  


"Red X! You have awakened! I am so very happy!" Starfire exclaimed and jumped up.  


"Hey dude, glad to see you're up!" Beastboy called out with a grin.  


"Red X? What is going on here?" Robin cried out in his confusion.  


"Man, relax. He's cool now." Cyborg told him.  


"How is he 'cool now'?" Robin asked.  


"He stepped in as leader when we were too upset over your betrayal and saved your ass as well as every couple in the city." Raven crossed her arms.  


"Oh, that's what you mean as in 'cool'." Robin chuckled awkwardly before getting up and walking around the couch to walk up to me. "I guess that means I owe you a 'thank you' for saving the city and taking care of my team." He smiled so easily, I wanted to hold him so bad. I settled for taking his hand in mine and shaking it.  


"Hey, as I said, I may not play 'hero', doesn't me and I-"  


"-Doesn't mean you don't know how." Robin finished for me, making my heart skip. "Yeah, I'm noticing. You know Red, if you keep this up, we may have to make you an honorary Titan."  


"Nah. I really should stick to what I know best. I get hurt a lot less." I let go of his hand.  


"Well, if you must, at least hang out here for a bit. You're still wounded. It wouldn't really help my conscious any if after everything I also let you leave here to hurt yourself worse." Robin offered, gesturing to the couch.  


"I, uh, sure. Why not?" Because I wasn't really a Titan and I obviously had a huge crush on the main Titan himself? Yeah that's not a valid enough reason apparently.  


When I sat down, Raven and Robin sat on either side of me. Raven a little closer than Robin.  


"So, how are you really?" She asked me quietly.  


"I'm good. Just a little sore. You?"  


"Cupid X didn't have time to get to me before the other's barged in. I was just drugged out by the wine like you were. Speaking of, how 'are' you feeling?"  


"C.X's gone, right? Well, so is her curse. All good here." I lied.  


"That's good." Raven smiled.  


"How about Robin? He good and forgiven?"  


"Well, he was under the curse when Slade told him the truth, so we can't really fault him for that. We're thinking that if Robin's talk with Slade goes well, we might be alright with him seeing 'Wilson' again, but there will be some major house rules put on the two." She snickered. My heart broke at that.  


"I- I see." I frowned.  


"What's wrong?" Raven's smile dropped.  


"Um, nothing. So you're a cop's kid?" I asked, remembering back at the restaurant.  


"No. That was a bluff. My dad is literally the devil. As in Trigon. My father is Satan." Raven deadpanned.  


"That's gotta suck."  


"It does put a damper on Thanksgiving, that's for certain."  


Just then Robin turned from his conversation with Cyborg to me.  


"Hey Red, Cy just told me how you and Rae when on a date to save my life. Wanna double up sometime." He chuckled.  


"There's a joke waiting to happen. So an acrobat, a killer, a thief, and a witch all walk into a restaurant. Cupid serves them all wine and they kick her ass." I joked. Everyone laughed and I was left with thinking about how much I don't want to see Slade and Robin being a happy couple.  


"You could also say 'three heroes and a mercenary walk into a bar-'."  


"I'm not a hero, Robin." I corrected.  


"You are to me." Robin smiled. It was painful, I was so close to what I wanted and yet, I couldn't have it. I just couldn't look Robin in the eye, or Raven. "Red, you okay?"  


"No." I answered before I could filter and lie appropriately, "I mean, I need to get home." I stood up and started for the exit.  


"Red wait. I'm sorry, I won't push the 'hero' topic with you anymore." Robin called out.  


"No, it's not that." I stopped and turned to face them. "Look, I'm glad we saved the city, and I'm ecstatic that you aren't trying to kill yourself in the name of love. It's just, I'm a nobody, Kid, and to be honest, that's how I'm comfortable living. I don't really want that to change." I started to walk backwards.  


"You don't have to go." Robin said. He sounded sad, as if it was disappointing that I was leaving so soon. But the longer I stayed the more I just wanted to have him, hold him, kiss him, tell him everything. I was slowly starting to figure out what was happening. Cupid's curse, mine activated after she was defeated, not before, it didn't erase when everyone else's did. I didn't have it all figured out at that moment, but I had a good idea that's what it was.  


"Don't worry Kid. This isn't the last you'll hear from me." I smiled and started walking again.

That brings me to now.  


It's been almost a month since I left the Titan's Tower that day. Since then Slade has publicly reformed and is now a known associate of the Titans, turns out he was just starting to feel the effects of the curse before it suddenly 'went away', i.e. when Cupid X was stopped. He and Robin are still going strong as ever. Raven and Beastboy started dating and that has been going pretty good for them lately. Either way I'm alone. I had hoped that with Cupid X gone, her curse would slowly ebb away. It didn't. It got worse, much worse. It has now gotten to the point where I can't sleep and I keep thinking about kidnapping Robin and hiding away with him. I am constantly talking myself out of trying to break him and Slade up. I don't trust myself with any wondering thoughts anymore because they always lead right back to him. I dream about him so vividly I can practically taste him when we kiss. In the end, that hero of Robin's, the one he saw in me, it's fading. If I don't want to do something I know I will, or at least should, regret, I have only one solution. It's the same solution Jordan and Eyvan had at the very beginning of the whole adventure. As sickening as it was to me then, it's the best thing I can do in the name of my love.

So, when I called this the eulogy of a hero, it is mine. It's the last time anyone will hear from me. I'm sorry Robin. I hope you are the one reading this, I wrote some pretty personal stuff in here about you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It's a single bullet, it'll go right to my temple. I won't suffer. I'm doing this for you. I don't mean in the creepy, 'please love me' way. I mean the 'I know if I don't I will ruin everything' way. I don't expect you to suddenly fall in love with me and follow me to the after life. I wish you the best with Slade. Just please, remember me. Fondly if you can manage. That's all I ask.  
Signing off,  
Alex Redford.  
Aka:  
-Red X.

(P.s. - Don't let that fire in your heart lead you anywhere. It's just going to get you burned.)


End file.
